Solar Jetman: Origins
by RyanMcRorie
Summary: As a fan of NES games, but not actually owning one, I found myself gravitating toward very specific, off-main-stream games. This is a side story for one of them: Solar Jetman: Quest for the Golden Warship. I hope you enjoy it. This story contains descriptions of crazy space action, violence, adult situations and language. Please be liberal in your assessments.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 - GS 4211, May 5, 06:01

Ankaa star system - Ankhamsa, the fifth planet

In the City of Clouds

The party was in full swing. The hotel's penthouse suite overlooked a bustling city-scape. This particular tower peaked above the traffic limit, so guests could enjoy the view unobstructed. It cost a lot of money to get the permits to build so high. Very few other towers shared this prestige. And there was the sunset. The small blue star lagged behind this month, so the light faded into an iridescent and eery sapphire. The clouds below shimmered and wavered, undulating through the air like schools of silvery fish.

Jack Maverick looked out from the balcony and breathed deeply. He felt accomplished. He sipped at his drink and reflected on the last five years. There were times he thought of giving up, quitting, setting fire to the entire school, and generally being unrestrained in his anger. But he held fast to his father's memories. And even though he was quick to anger, Jack managed to redirect his energy into his studies, and express his fervor with tempered urgency.

This party was the culmination of all that schooling. He, among several other students, had graduated from a rabble's life into an elite pilot squadron. He had friends and family that supported him, and his fellow graduates shared in the honor of it all. But it was only the first of many honors to come. At least, that's how Jack imagined it. Parades, confetti, beautiful people celebrating him as a hero of the Federation, commandants and admirals pinning ribbons and medals of honor to his dress blues. He felt the impatience to be in a ship, earning his awards.

He turned back to the party, pushing off the the banister. He walked, sipped his drink, smiled at a few people, and entered the main suite. A band banged out a healthy beat and a small group of people danced in front of them. Jack walked around them and into a back room. More people sat and chatted. The band was muted in here, but he continued down the hall. Another room and people were more intimately involved; hands on thighs, shoulders and elbows rubbing, mouths close to ears. Here the mood was set by lighter music played over the comm speakers. Jack left this room and walked down another hall. He stopped in front of a room with a closed door. Knocking lightly, he waited and heard movement through the door. It slid open a few inches and a smiling woman greeted him. Her purple eyes sparkled and her crest fluttered ever so slightly.

"I'm glad you decided to join us, Jacky. We were just getting started," she said. The door opened all the way and Jack stepped into the room.

"Now things can really get started," he said with a smile. Several other people smiled at him, and the door slid closed.

Jack awoke with a start. His head pounded and he felt nauseous. The sunlight coming through the window was too bright, and he had to sit in the bed for a minute to allow his eyes to adjust. He looked around the room. There were several people laying in various positions around the room. The purple-eyed woman with the white head-crest was curled up on his right side, and a red-haired woman with tentacles was on his left. Curled up near his feet at end of the bed was a pointy-eared, slightly fuzzy, naked, man. His tail twitched and he whimpered while his breathing quickened. In the lounger by the bay window another man and woman lay entangled in each others limbs; a blanket lay haphazardly across them and the fins and webbed toes of their feet were resting in a wide, water-filled tub. On the floor near the fireplace a pile of bodies lay on a divan, it's satin sheets crumpled and skewed. Everyone was snoring.

Jack eased himself over the red-head, being careful not to crush her any of her flaccid tentacles. He entered the bathroom, shut the door, and started the shower. Sighing, he leaned over the toilet. His nausea had settled, but he believed it to be a ruse. His stomach never seemed to respond well to the alcohols he put in it. He could feel the stickiness in his skin; the desire to be sick was overwhelming. He heaved several times, forcing his stomach to relieve it's contents. Very little came up and it didn't look good. He gargled some water and spat, then gulped several mouthfuls from the sink before entering the shower. He sighed again as the heated water washed over him. Last night was fun, but he'd need more restraint with his drinking. Why did liquors have to taste so good?

Finished showering, he stepped out and looked at himself in the mirror. Average height and build for an athletic human, Jack flexed and posed for a few minutes. He knew he could have more toned and defined muscle, but didn't really care to do the work. He was a pilot, not a model. Pilots didn't need the same musculature as the grunts. Regardless, he did have to be in good physical shape to fly in the conditions the Federation required of him. Space. Zero-Gee flight was the ultimate everything. Ultimate High. Ultimate Ride. Ultimate Adventure. And he was in! He brushed his fingers through his short-cropped dark hair and smiled at himself. He was having trouble containing his excitement. He frowned. Or was it the alcohol? He leaned over the toilet again and heaved a good deal of liquid into the bowl.

"Pb-ph-uck!" he sputtered as his stomach clenched and forced him to curl tighter against the toilet. He hated vomiting. His body ached all over, like he had been pummeled with a baton for hours. Oh, right, that did happen. When he was sure his stomach was done, he grabbed some antacids from the cabinet. The sweet and powdery taste blanketed his tongue. He swallowed the fuzzy medicine with some water and waited while his stomach stopped burbling. He was hungry.

Making breakfast was fast and required a few button pushes to direct the transmat food processor to make the perfect meal. Before the food was finished heating, he attempted to gently wake up the red-head. Next time, instead of whispering in her ear and nibbling an ear lobe, he would remember to poke her with a stick. A tentacle had rocketed at his head, knocking him painfully on his butt. She apologized sincerely, and he managed to laugh it off.

Once breakfast was done, he dressed in his new uniform and headed toward the main door. The few people who had gotten up said their goodbyes. He didn't need to stick around, as last night's party was all the goodbye anyone needed. He tread carefully around all the bodies of cuddled couples and triples on the floor as he made his way to suite's entrance. One last glance around the place; he felt good about this. He knew his next steps would take him into a much more exciting life. The Federated Galactic Alliance would send him on dangerous quests and harrowing adventures. He would be famous.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - GS 4212, July 3, 18:34

Ankaa star system - Oort cloud

FGA supply base Beta-148

"It's been over a year, Phil! When do I get to see some action?" Jack was shouting at his squad leader. Phil was shorter by a foot, but outweighed Jack by at least a hundred pounds of muscle. Phil's craggy green skin crinkled as he turned his face to the side.

"I'm gonna need you calm down, Jack." Phil put out a hand, but stopped short of pushing against his friend. His thick and rumbling voice was gentle despite his appearance. "You just need to remember that our squad is the backup squad. All we're doing is drilling. And as long as there is relative peace in nearby quadrants, we're gonna keep on drilling, until we all know the drills in our sleep."

"I know the fucking drills, Phil. I can do them blindfolded, forward and backward. I've gotten faster times than any of the active squads combined. And yet I keep being relegated to clean up duty!" He shouted these last three words, then turned away from his friend. He recognized his frustration and knew he was venting it poorly. But then a year of reserve duty when he was promised active was a good reason to be frustrated. He walked over and threw himself on his bunk. He still fumed.

"Look. I'm sorry I'm so upset. I apologize for yelling at you. I'm really frustrated by all this horse-shit, and would just like to go on a few missions already." His voice was edged with tension and trembled slightly, but he managed to maintain an even tone and low volume.

"Jack. I-" Phil started to explain again why they couldn't go on inter-solar missions, but stopped himself. He felt the same frustration. "I know how you feel. We all feel the same. None of us wants to be grounded while some unskilled fly-boys get all the credit. We've all done the simulations, and the scores aren't even comparable. Look, I'm not supposed to say anything about it, but I've asked the Captain about it and he told me to be patient. So I'm telling you: be patient. We'll get our turn. Okay, buddy?" Phil had walked over and sat on the bunk. At the mention of the Captain, Jack's face lit up.

"Really? I mean, if the Captain's going to let us do more than maneuvers, then alright! But, come on! When? All this waiting and training is making me nutty."

"Just be patient. Okay?" Phil smiled, jagged teeth shining beneath the scaly lips.

"Yeah. Okay. Hey, let's go do some drills now? I'm pretty sure there're no flights scheduled this afternoon." Jack had sat up, and put a hand on Phil's shoulder, feeling the lizard's bumps beneath the uniform shirt.

"Yeah, if that's what you want. We'll do it."

Half an hour later the two were in separate pods, launching out from the base on a course for the nearest clump of asteroids.

"All systems check. Active radar, range one-eight-six-two-eight-two. Ordinance, safety, armed. Tractor, powered, active." Phil mechanically listed off the post-launch items, and Jack confirmed each one. Jack flexed his arms and hands, stretching and cracking the joints in his fingers while he patiently waited for Phil to finish.

"All ready. Systems green. Okay, Jack. I've uploaded the scenario to your nav-deck. Punch it up and follow me." Phil's egg-shaped ship flared it's port jets, then it's starboard jets, then the bright ion thrusters bucked the little ship towards a nearby asteroid. Jack glanced over the basics. Imaginary opponents appeared on his radar; he registered them in his targeting systems, then turned his ship to follow Phil's. He noted on his radar the location of their imaginary drop-ship; it was important to remain aware of locations when flying into new areas. Like home base, for instance. Or the drop ship. If he ever needed to exit his pod for any reason while away from his ship, he'd better have a good idea which way to turn to get back to it.

"We're in a fairly calm area, Jack, but don't be a slouch. Keep an eye out for fast moving rocks." Phil's warning came as a small rock sparked off his hull. He noted the single digit loss off his hull integrity monitor. "Also, just because this is simulated, doesn't mean we can't get stranded out here. So don't do anything tricky."

"Got it, Squad Leader," Jack said. He spun his pod rapidly, squeezing off a burst of shots. A pod-sized rock spun awkwardly and slowed down from the dummy rounds. It's path would have put it right against Jack's pod a minute later. "No problem."

"Jack, I'm already at the entrance. What are you doing?"

"Just clearing the path home." Jack shot a few more rounds at incoming rocks, coaxing them to a slower pace. "Sorry that took so long, but it didn't look like you were going to do it." He eased his pod behind his friend's and waited.

"Right," Phil said. "I've checked the gravitational field here and it looks almost non-existent. Let's do this by the books." He fired his mains in short bursts, easing his pod into a large opening in the side of an asteroid. His pod-lights disappeared after a minute, but he called out, "Looks like there isn't room for more than just one pod. Watch your sides and wait for me."

"Got it. I'll wait here. You have fun now," Jack said. He grimaced.

"-ain-epeat-at, ple-" Phil's transmission was now cutting out. Jack scrambled to boost his signal and check the asteroids composition.

"Phil, copy me, we seem to be losing signal." He checked the readout. "The asteroid looks to be mostly iron, lead, and iridium." He waited. Now only static came through the comm speaker. "Shit." He quickly checked the area again and noted a huge asteroid tumbling toward their position. They had at most ten minutes before it collided with the rock Phil had entered. "Shit." He had to do it. Firing thrusters, he pushed into the gaping hole. The pod's lights showed him a sharp and craggy the surface. He eased into the tunnel and saw minimal clearance on either side. He was sure he could spin around in this space, but the sinister jagged walls reminded him safety over urgency. Before he was out of view of the tunnel's opening he fired a distress beacon into the wall. Hopefully it wouldn't be needed.


End file.
